Daddy's Lullaby
by katherinefics
Summary: Tawni Hart stands, staring at the tombstone. All that's left. All that's left of a life, a star, a dream. And then her life flashes before her eyes... PULL update, T for angst-y themes


**A/N: Yes, I know. Another Tawni fic? I'm sorry, but she's such an interesting character! The show doesn't go into her that much in detail, and I think there's so much more to her than what the show portrays her as. Keep in mind that Tawni's age is one number below the year, so if it's Year Nine she would be eight. It's confusing, I know, but I didn't know how else to portray the years. Sorry! This was brought to you by Project PULL, a project designed to make you a better writer and push your limits! For more information, or to join PULL, visit Bookaholic711's, the genus who founded this Project, profile,**

**Disclaimer: Do you think Disney writers would write something so... depressing?**

**Recommended Listing Music: Cristofori's Dream, David Lanz

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Tawni Hart stands, staring at the tombstone. All that's left. All that's left of a life, a star, a dream.

And then her life flashes like a movie before her eyes...

Year One

_Tawni Hart is born, beautiful already. Her mother calls the press and tells them, during labor, that she's being born. The first thing Tawni sees in this world are flashing lights. The second thing is a man's face, staring lovingly at her. He picks her up and rocks her, and then she's attached to this man._

_Tami ignores her cries at night, telling Paul to take her, she needs her beauty rest. After all, she has an interview the next day, about the hardships of being a celebrity mother. So Paul goes and rocks his daughter, until she's calm and asleep. He hums the same song every night, and it always gets her to sleep._

_Eventually, Paul goes back to his job as a producer, and Tami has baby Tawni all to herself. There's not very many acting roles for a seven month old baby, but she manages to find her a job as a baby with colic for the show ER, and then a couple medical show roles after that. The directors all love working with her, tell Tami she's the sweetest baby they've ever seen. Tami smiles proudly and tells them all to keep in touch about future work._

Year Two

_Tawni is given an agent, who scouts and snags fourteen roles for her before the month ends. Everyone who works with her begs to work with her more, and she's got acting gigs almost every day now. When she cries the only thing that calms her down is Daddy's Lullaby. Tami has to record him singing it and bring it with her everywhere. Tawni always calms down when she hears it, and no one knows why. They all agree it's sad and depressing, and Tami adds in that if she's going to love one song, it should at least be something popular._

_Six months later, Tawni lands her first major role, she is the new poster baby for Baby's Diapers, appearing in all commercials and ads. Her mother isn't proud though, because she can do much better._

Year Three

_Tawni starts to talk, and her acting carrier goes through the roof. Directors everywhere want The Adorable Tawni Hart. She has a gig every day, and the Harts are much richer than before. Tami wants more for her child, she wants her name to go down in history. So she forces Tawni to learn to speak in three other languages. Spanish, French, Chinese. Tami hires three separate nanny's, one for each language, to take care of her for four hours a day. Soon, Tawni can speak in four languages. Directors are begging for her. Tami says yes to each offer, overworking poor Tawni._

_She only looks forward to when Daddy comes home, and they can sing and dance and play tag and Daddy can sing her to sleep with the beautifully tragic song._

_Then one day Daddy doesn't come home, and it's only when Tawni asks Tami, "Where Daddy?" does Tami realize it's 7:30 and he's not home and he said 5:00 and here they are at 7:45 with no Daddy._

_The police tell her there was an accident. The doctors tell her he has a 18% chance of living. The lawyers say that it was an accident, that no one could of planned the tree brach to fall on the car in that exact moment. But she sues the owners of the house the tree was in the yard of anyway, and wins. They're even richer now, but Tami is depressed and Tawni is confused. Where is Daddy?_

Year Four

_For Tawni's third birthday, she gets tickets to Russia. She's been chosen to play a little girl who is kidnapped from her single father, and taken to Russia. The movie will be shot on location, and although she is only in some of the scenes, she gets credited as a main character. Tami makes sure of it._

_Tami's even more fame-hungry now that Paul is gone, and makes Tawni work, work, work. She dresses her in crazy designer outfits, and Tawni has a personal trainer at the age of three, even though she has a natural thin body._

_Tawni doesn't like her character, she sound's mean. But Tami says those are the people who always make it._

Year Five

_Tawni can never sleep without Daddy's Lullaby, so Tami plays the recording on a loop when it's Tawni's bedtime. But one day the recorder breaks, and Tami goes out of her way to find a way to fix it, but can't. Tawni thinks it's strange Tami's giving this much effort to something that doesn't involve money or fame, but shrugs it off_

_Tami wants it fixed, but not so Tawni can get to sleep. She'll never admit it, not even to herself, but Daddy's Lullaby is the only thing she has left of Paul._

_The movie is a hit, and the Harts are even richer. But Tami isn't impressed. Her daughter needs to be on the cover of every magazine, to be the Belle of every Ball. So she lets her daughter start to use makeup, and and hires a hair and makeup artist to ready Tawni every day._

_Tawni doesn't like the hair/makeup lady, her name is Kelli. She pulls her hair and makes her sit for an hour in the chair. But Mommy makes her._

_Kelli tells Tami about a new TV show Condor Studios is releasing, The Goody Gang. She says her son is already in it and they need a female lead around Tawni's age, and that she can set Tawni up. But she doesn't need to, because as soon as the director hears that The Adorable Tawni Hart wants to be in his show, he says yes immediately. Shooting for the show starts in three weeks._

_Year Six_

_Tawni meets Kelli's son, Chad Dylan Goldfarb. He's the sweetest thing, almost as sweet as Tawni, everyone says. Tawni falls in love with him, and they become the cutest couple. Everywhere she goes, Tawni is recognized._

_"Oh, look, its that adorable kid from the Goody Gang! Oh, sweetie, can I have your autograph?"_

_The Adorable Tawni Hart never refuses an autograph._

_Year Seven_

_Tawni starts kindergarden. She has a private tutor who follows her to wherever Tawni needs to be for the day. Her name is Mrs O'Neaile. Mrs. O'Neaile tells Tami that Tawni is bright, one the smartest pupils she's ever taught at this age level. Tami doesn't care, though. She needs her daughter to be the brightest star ever, not pupil. So Tami makes sure Mrs. O'Neaile keeps giving Tawni stuff for her age level, despite Mrs. O'Neaile's numerous protests that Tawni should be given more advanced work._

_The Goody Gang becomes the number one kids show, and now everyone knows Tawni Hart's name. But along with so much fame came change. Chad started to change, become less sweet and more of a jerk. Tawni doesn't understand why he's changing, she wants him to stay the sweetest kid around (other than The Adorable Tawni Hart), but he keeps getting meaner._

Year Eight

_Tawni and Chad hardly speak now, and the Goody Gang is scheduled to end on August 30th. Her father's birthday._

_Her mother pushes her farther, putting her on the South Beach Diet because Tawni gained five pounds with hight. Tawni hates it, and either eats a few bites or nothing at all. Her mother is still not impressed. She makes Tawni go to five auditions a day, worried when the Goody Gang ends Tawni will fade. Tawni is worn thin and tiered at the end of each day, and never gets enough sleep because she can't hear Daddy's Lullaby._

_Chad bullies her endlessly at Goody Gang rehearsals and tapings now, and Goldfarb has become Cooper, to make him look "cooler". She comes home to her evil Mother, who forces her to wear uncomfortable clothes and to practice, practice, practice._

_Tawni begins to wish she was never famous._

Year Nine

_The Goody Gang ended two months ago, and Tawni is still wanted everywhere. But her mother is worrying. Tawni is eight, and getting too old for the "The Adorable Tawni Hart" image. She decides to hold out one more year, then consult Jenna, Tawni's agent, or maybe Kelli_

_Kelli still does Tawni's hair and make-up, though she tones it down a bit when Tawni's not on air. To make things more easy, Kelli moves in the house next door to the Hart's. Chad comes over with Kelli in the mornings, and tells Tawni she looks ugly with and without make-up. It's the worst thing anyone's ever said to her, including her mother._

_Now Tawni strives to be beautiful just as much as her mother, and succeeds. Her next big thing is being the model for Ralph Lauren's new children's line, letting her become the poster girl for child beauty. All the little girls want to be as stylish, as thin, as beautiful as Tawni Hart._

_Tawni loves the attention, but Tami doesn't think Tawni's good enough. She makes Tawni burn anything thats more than a month old, even if Tawni loves the article of clothing._

_"You need to have only the hottest trends. I don't want you falling behind style-wise,"_

_"But I don't wanna!"_

_"To bad. Do it. Do it for Daddy. You want Daddy to be proud, don't you?"_

_Ironically, one of the things she has to trash is the last thing Daddy bought her, and classic pink dress. Tawni cries as she watches it burn._

_Year Ten_

_'Fine,' Tawni thinks one day after watching some snooty girl movie on TV. 'If the pretty, dumb, mean girl is always the best, I'll just have to be her. After all, that's what Mommy wants, right? The best.'_

_So The Adorable Tawni Hart becomes the Stuck-Up Tawni Hart. The spoiled, rude, pretty, dumb Tawni Hart._

_'All those designer perfumes must've gotten to her brain,' Everyone thinks, frowning and saddened by how many nice Hollywood girls went bad._

_Tawni is one of those girls._

Year Eleven

_The Lauren-Kids line, as it was nicknamed, fades. Soon they don't need her to model anymore. But Tawni is still the Beauty Queen of little girls everywhere. Soon everything had a kids version, just so Tawni could be the spokes-girl for them. Tami accepts all of them, grateful Tawni has become "The Beautiful Tawni Hart" so she doesn't have to worry about Tawni's image as much._

_Jenna is fired as Tawni's agent after turning down one job for Tawni, for being the spokes-kid for the new BCBG Kids line. Tami takes over as Tawni's agent, making Tawni even more miserable. She has more gigs than ever these days, and is exhausted by night. And still can't sleep without Daddy's Lullaby._

_Year Twelve_

_The child-craze begins to end, because Tawni is gracing her way into her teenage years and not a child anymore. She lands her first major acting role since The Goody Gang, as a eleven-year-old princess living in New York City undercover. The show is produced by Coyote Studios, Condor Studios rival. But Tawni and Tami don't care. They just want fame. Tawni meets Grady Mitchell, her co-star on the show, which the producers decided to name New York Princess. It takes a while, thanks to Tawni's attitude, but eventually they become friends, simply because of all the time they have to spend together. Grady is Tawni's first real friend since Chad._

_The plot of NYP premiers in June, and viewers love it. The princess role ups Tawni's glamor girl status even more, and she is the talk of Hollywood._

_It would be great, except for the fact Tami still wasn't impressed, and pushed Tawni to do more, forcing her to go to millions of TV, magazines, and radio interviews._

_Tawni once again wishes for no fame. Or at least Daddy's Lullaby._

Year Thirteen

_Grady's character is killed off, making ratings for the show rocket down. The producers are too stubborn to put Grady back on and NYP isn't ordered for another season. Tami goes into a craze looking for the ideal part for Tawni to have. But the unenviable happens._

_No one wants Tawni Hart._

_Directors, actors, gossip columnists all agree on one thing: Tawni Hart is old news._

_Tami is outraged, and forces Tawni to diet harder, work out more, and toss anything more than a week old._

_But the directors still don't want her. They tell Tami and Tawni no, they didn't want/need Tawni Hart right now, she just doesn't interest them at the moment, blah, blah, blah._

_Tami needs Tawni in the limelight 24.7, no matter what. She blames Tawni for everything, telling her she can't act, that she's not pretty enough, that she's not good enough._

_Finally, as a last resort, Tami starts dating Erik Tyme, the father of a major singer, Justin Tyme. Tami doesn't even like Erik, but gossip columnists love a celebrity marriage._

_Soon Tawni is wanted everywhere again, this time not because she's adorable or beautiful, but because everyone hopes she'll leak some info about "Tarik"._

_Tawni is slightly grateful to her mom about Erik, but mostly confused. Why fake love?_

_"It's part of the Hollywood game, darling. You just weren't good enough, so we needed something else to trigger directors to want you."_

_Tawni's never good enough._

Year Fourteen

_Finally, after so long of searching, Tami finally finds a show that is willing to take Tawni. It's a kid's show, the name still in the works, that focuses on funny sketches and parodies. Tami schedules an audition for Tawni, and Tawni makes it in._

_It's strange, doing funny things. Tawni is so used to being in dramas, or movies, and she has never done anything like this before. The show premiers in a month, January 1st, and they still have no name, and are short a character. They need a male lead, other than Nico, who can balance the genders. Two girls, two boys. Meanwhile, Tawni has run into a familiar face. Chad Dylan Cooper, good boy turned bad (much like herself), is the star of a neighboring show, Mackenzie Falls. It premiered a year ago, and Chad had become the poster boy of drama. When Tawni hears Chad isn't just in the show, he IS the show, she decides she needs to be the star of her show, too. So she provides the title, So Random!, for the producers, and insists she be credited first and act in the most sketches. In exchange for this Tawni also provides them with another male lead._

_Grady Mitchell._

Year Fifteen

_Although she is given the lead role in So Random!, Tawni also is given an enemy._

_Mandy January, the other female lead on So Random!._

_Mandy was new to the world of Hollywood and stars, and the minute she got the call saying she landed on So Random! she expected everything to be handed to her, including the best role. And when Tawni Hart got that role, just like that, it made Mandy angry. Just angry, at first, but as time went on it soon became furious, then it became pure hatred._

_That hatred landed Tawni in the hospital for a month._

_Soon after Mandy was kicked off the show, but gossip reporters and the paparazzi love the drama, and Mandy ends up becoming bigger than Tawni, anyway._

_Tami was, of course, furious, and wouldn't rest until Mandy had been thrown out of Hollywood- for good._

Year Sixteen

_Since the dismissal of Mandy, Tami starts working Tawni harder. Soon Tawni is in every sketch, has dated and dumped every guy on set (except for one Chad Dylan Cooper), and is thinner and more stylish than ever. Then Sonny Monroe shows up, too chipper and good for everyone's own good. Heck, she brought out the good in Chad! Soon, Sonny is the buzz of every magazine, website, and newspaper around. Tawni loses more and more fame as Sonny starts dating Chad and soon, no one recognizes Tawni anymore! She loses it when she and Sonny drive to Wisconsin and no one knows who she is. She doesn't even need to wear a disguise to hide her face from the paparazzi- because there is no paparazzi! This year isn't going at all like she had wished and she cannot wait for it to end._

Year Seventeen

_Tami, the fame monster she always is, demands Tawni to get back on top. So Tami dumps Erik, her boyfriend of five years-although they spent much of that time being disloyal to each other-at the same time Tawni starts dating Justin. The paparazzi loves it, and rumors fly. Tawni Hart is back on top- again._

_She ends the year alone- Tami is on a luxury cruse away with a man she met at a bar. She ends the year alone and desperate and angry at her mother for what she's put Tawni through- it isn't fair! The ball hits the ground of Times Square at the same time the phone rings._

_"Miss. Hart, we have some unfortunate news for you..."_

_The news of her mother's death had devastated everyone- from fans to the newspapers to Tawni's few friends. Tawni was more depressed than ever, remembering all the time and effort- all the things she had to give up- for someone who was gone. Just like that, dead and gone. One phone call can change the whole scheme of things..._

_Shortly after her mother's funeral, Tawni hears something that both amazes and shocks her- music. The tune sounds so familiar, as if she knew it so well at some point. She rushes into the Prop House to see Sonny on the piano, playing the haunting memory. She stops Sonny and practically yells what is she playing?_

_Sonny, surprised at Tawni's sudden excitement over a song, mumbles the name._

_"Cristofori's Dream... geeze..."_

_Tawni hears the name, but for her the name is something different._

_Daddy's Lullaby._

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The movie ends, and Tawni is left depressed and lost. She doesn't understand anything anymore. All that she believed in, all that her life philosiphy was built around, had been torn down. What had become of the Adorable Tawni Hart? The Beautiful Tawni Hart? Who was she now? The Depressed Tawni Hart? She doesn't know. She just doesn't know.

So she leaves Hollywood, packs up and drives away without even telling anyone. Because she doesn't care about anything, or at least not yet. She is going to find herself, find her real self, not the one Hollywood directors and Tami had built up.

"Goodbye, Hollywood. Maybe I'll come back someday..."

And so she leaves, with only her credit card and iPod with her. She contemplated for a long time wether or not to bring her iPod- after all, there's only one song on it.

Daddy's Lullaby.


End file.
